


The Wings of Storm

by Draphy_Dragon



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Fantasy, High Fantasy, Japan, Japanese Character(s), Japanese Culture, Manga & Anime, Portal Fantasy, Science Fiction & Fantasy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-24
Updated: 2019-09-22
Packaged: 2020-09-25 11:07:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20375743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Draphy_Dragon/pseuds/Draphy_Dragon
Summary: Tahro Akagi shouldn't live in two worlds at once.Yet forced to spend his days studying by a no-nonsense mother, he longs for adventure. In a moment of desperation, Tahro finds himself in Saishuu Riku, the lands of his favourite book. Engrossed in this world more than he ever thought possible, Tahro saves a character's life.But if a butterfly's wings can bring thunderstorms, then his every breath is another flap as it flies, his every heartbeat a danger to those around him.Unwittingly, he becomes entangled in a web of conspiracies between ministers, a murderous witch and a kidnapper with butterfly-patterned knives. Tahro learns he's changed the plot too much. Events that should happen don't and his new friends are caught in a crossfire he wants no part in.And when his friend is kidnapped, saving her could put everyone else in danger. Yet Tahro can't stand by and watch.





	1. 1.1- The Book Which Split Me in Two

**Author's Note:**

> I update every Saturday.

Dear Youka,

In my twenty-four years, I've read thousands of books, but I've only lived in one. I never thought you would do the same. However, not many people have two souls like us, so you must keep this memoir a secret.

Tahro Akagi.

***

_July 22. Nine going on ten years old. Japan_.

Rambling voices and an aroma of new books filled every nook and cranny of the shop. People of all ages scuttled around the place like ants. From toddlers who clung to their parents' arms or loitered a few aisles away, staring at picture books, to old people in the _Archives_ section, going through newspapers of yesteryear.

A looming bookcase filled with manga demanded my attention. Each cover depicted the protagonists in heroic poses to enchant shoppers.

I squeezed my wallet, and its scratchy surface drew sweat from my palms. It held four hundred yen, enough for one volume.

_Choices. Choices._

I tapped the top of the books, flipping some here and there. Where one beckoned me with promises of cool gadgets, another would do the same with the most marvellous of creatures. _One day, when I become a scientist, I'd earn a lot of money just to buy this whole store._

Towards the end of the shelf, I pulled one out. _Blade Fables_. The book was white with red borders and a large number one on its spine. Four kids decorated the front, three of them junior high age, while one looked younger, around ten. Though I doubted they attended school, what with their swords and varied outfits.

The more I stared, the more their stylized eyes glistened. The air around me became lighter, more windy in a way. A shiver went up my spine.

I shook my head and turned the book.

There. The blurb.

_Heikisato boasts of the best swordsmen in Saishuu Riku. Ahio, Kaede, Tsubasa and Daisuke of Heikisato have graduated into just that. Finally, their years of hard work are going to pay off. And their first quest is... to escort a kid back home?!_

A run-of-the-mill shounen manga. Who knew if this was any good?

But the thought of leaving this behind disgusted me. Left a bad taste in my mouth.

I checked the price, wondering if I'd have enough change to get ice-cream afterwards. _Four hundred and twenty yen. _My heart sank. I riffled through my wallet, hoping I'd find twenty more yen somewhere in its folds. But there were none. I'd have to run back home to ask Mum for more cash. Would she give it to me, if I promised to study an hour longer tomorrow?

But what if someone bought it while I was away? I stared at the book, not wanting to place it back. Were there more copies? I ran my eyes along the shelf, pausing here and there at other white books with red borders. But none of them were _Blade Fables_. 

_I should hide it._

I turned around to look for a good hidey-hole when I knocked against something beside me.

The word 'sorry'was halfway out my mouth before I saw who or what I'd hit. It was a who, a short raven-haired boy whose arms embraced several volumes. Some of the manga teetered on the edge of falling, and it was a wonder they hadn't already. A tinge of envy coloured my thoughts. How could he afford all that? I remembered him from school. Who wouldn't though? He was famous-- always in plays and spelling bees.

Yes, that was your uncle. The one and only Yuuhei Shinguchi.

'Sorry, sorry!'

'It's OK,' said a high-pitched voice. 'Hey, you're Tahro, right? I've seen you at school.' Yuuhei grinned, one sharp tooth poking out from under his upper lip.

That was a new one. It wasn't every day that someone asked for my name rather than 'You're that hafu kid from school!' Being half Japanese and American wasn't all that it was blown-up to be. Sure, all my classmates wanted to be blonde with blue eyes. But when you're born with it, everyone and their mother thinks you're an interesting specimen to stare at and investigate.

'Yes, I'm Tahro Akagi. And you're Yuuhei, right?' I smiled back.

'Yup, what kind of manga do you read?'

I was hoping that was that, and he'd leave. The store would close soon, and I needed enough time to convince Mum. 'Well, I like _Digital Front, Pockeymum_\--'

'_Pokeymum_!' he exclaimed, his dark eyes flying open like window shades. Everyone around us shifted their eyes toward us. Yuuhei covered his mouth, and I waved my fingers in the air. He gave a curt nod and continued in a whisper.

'I love _Pockeymum_. Those cute little pokey sticks are so awesome. We have so much to talk about.' He crept closer. 'By the way, am I quiet enough now?'

'Yes,' I said and chuckled. His darting eyes and frown made it seem as though we were discussing some secret mission.

Just as I was about to wish him a good day, one of his manga decided it had had enough and fell. I stooped to pick it up. As I returned it, I asked a question that still burned in my mind. 'Are you buying _all_ that?'

'Yup,' he said. 'I'll let you borrow them if you'll look after them carefully.'

_No way._ Excitement bubbled within me, and a big smile grew on my face. 'Wow, really? Yes, I read books carefully.'

'Good. What manga are you buying anyway?'

I glanced at the cover again. The clean winds returned, this time with whispers I could have sworn weren't from people around me. Where did they come from? I wanted, no, _needed_ to know.

If only it wasn't so expensive.

'_Blade Fables. _ButI-- I don't know if I can afford it yet. I'm twenty yen short.'I swallowed, bringing the book close to my chest. 'I'm going to go home to ask Mum for more money.' 

'Oh. Can I see it?' He reached out to take it. The pile of books in the other arm wobbled like pudding. I hoped it wouldn't fall. It'd cause such a racket if it did. Everyone would stare at us again. What if we got kicked out?'It looks interesting,' he said, giving it back to me. 'I've never heard of it before. Must be new.' Thank God, now he could hold his pudding with both hands.

'I'll lend you the twenty yen.' Yuuhei grinned.

For a moment, I thought I was in a dream. My heart skipped a beat. 'Would you? But Mum always told me to never accept charity.'

He scoffed. 'She doesn't have to know. And I did say lending, didn't I? You can just give it to me when we meet at school once you get more pocket money.'

I ran a finger down the book's spine. He was right_. _Relief washed over me, and I clutched the book tighter. I was glad he _had _stopped to chat. 'Okay.'

Yuuhei beamed and strutted up the aisle a few inches before being forced to duck his head and tuck in his stomach. The pudding of books swayed but somehow remained intact. 'Yay. Now let's pay for these. Oof, excuse me, miss.'

I prepared to navigate the crowd, holding onto the book like a lifeline.

'Wanna come over to my place after?' said a head now lost in the sea of bodies.

'Sure.'

Yet I can't remember what I did the first time in his home. All I recall was longing for a breath of that fresh air again. A longing to hear those whispers and wondering why a chill had run up my spine. It was gradual, going to another world, like grains of sand slowly sucked into the bottom of an hourglass. And today was when the first grain fell.


	2. 1.2- The Book Which Split Me in Two

My mum made sure to inform me it was time to study as soon as I got home. I placed the manga on my shelf, still in its bag-- I couldn't bear to take it out and not be able to read it. With my textbook open, my eyes skimmed the material, reading the same sentences several times over. However much I tried, the little shopping bag behind me crept into my mind.

_Should I read it now?_

I shook my head at the thought. No, if Mum found out-- well, I didn't want to know what she'd do. No, I'd just have to power through. After dinner, I could read as much as I wanted before bedtime.

For a few more minutes, I stared at my textbook. When I'd read the word 'condensation' for the fifth time, I leaned back with a sigh. This wasn't working.

Muffled sounds of our TV made way into my room. My mum must've been watching some series or another. Heart pounding, I peeked around the doorway. Sure enough, her blond curls struck out from behind the sofa. Hardly daring to breathe, I crept back in, right past my desk to my bookshelf.

My trembling fingers prised the book out of the bag. Every crinkle of plastic made me wince. Yet the sounds from the TV remained the same, and no footsteps made their way to my door. I returned to my desk with the book.

_Should I do this?_

I'd never disobeyed my mum this way before. My skin prickled with fear, but also a dash of exhilaration. Like I was breaking a sacred oath, only to be set free. Guilt stirred in me, but I squashed it. I'd already covered the material anyway. One look at the cover, with glistening eyes that seemed much too real, convinced me. Yes, I had to read it.

I opened the manga a scant thirty degrees, careful so the spine didn't snap. The beautiful smell of new paper met my nostrils, and a fresh page of grayscale cover art greeted me.

On the next page, delicately turned to forestall any crease, the story began.

_A village, perhaps a town, lay before me, with sprawling buildings and tangled vines. Heikisato, Saishuu Riku, 473 AE, said a little banner under the first panel. One establishment stood out, its roofing circular and its many stories situated in the centre, like a mama hen coddling her chicks._

_Far off the building, toward the walls of the town, two youngsters rushed across the streets_. _One, a bell-shaped girl with two swords that hung behind her like a cross, frowned as she chased after the other, a boy. He laughed, as the wind messed up his already spiky hair, and slowed down to let her catch up._

_The large gabled homes and lush front lawns of the neighbourhood they sped from grew taller with each passing road or alley. Soon, they became five or six-storied apartments with sloped roofs. Crisscrossed wooden cages, outdoor elevators, stood by each one's side like pillars. Where before a child and an old lady or two crossed their path, now were merchants waving their banners, cooing their prices._

_They escaped one last shopkeeper, a scrawny old man parading fresh peaches, and reached the heart of the town. The apartments and makeshift stalls gave way to wide multi-storey buildings surrounded by gardens. One of them was the establishment with a glass dome on top like a giant mushroom, to which the two headed to._

_The next scene opened when the boy barged through a crowded room full of other kids around their age. A lone older teenager manned a reception desk, upon which was a plaque that said _Third Grade Quest Centre_. The girl followed, out of breath but laughing, and in her mirth, bumped into the older boy who sat closest to the door. His thin frame, made even more so by an equally narrow face and long black shirt, fell against the wall._

_'Oh no, I'm sorry,' she said, turning around._

_'It's--it's okay,' said the boy, whose freckled cheeks turned several shades darker as he looked up at her. On his left shoulder was a little cat-like creature, with rabbit ears and a long arrowhead tail._

_The girl beamed at him before heading to the reception. He swung down his head, and his long framing bangs and glasses masked his own shy smile._

I sensed an impending romance and groaned. Why did they have to include it in _everything?_

_'Names please,' said the older girl at the desk, which was weighed down by stacks of folders, pens and sticky notes._

_'I'm Kaede Touta and this is Ahio Sora,' the girl replied._

_She shuffled some papers until she found a couple of files, one with a picture of Kaede, and the other of Ahio. Clipped on to each was a small card with _Eleven_ on it. She removed these and handed it to them. 'Please wait for your turn. The Quest Master will call you in. Squad eight is now inside.'_

_Kaede began to speak but froze. On the teen's once neat ponytail was now a cat-like creature with rabbit ears and an arrowhead tail. It blinked and mewed._

_'Ahhh!' the receptionist screamed and clutched her head, or rather, what was on top of her head. Before her hands could grasp it, the animal bit her wrist and leapt off onto the table. It tore apart some folders close by and made quick work of the papers inside. People started from their seats, and a few rose up to help._

_'I'll catch it!' cried Ahio. He sprang upon the desk, arms reaching and flinging shreds of paper every which way. The little creature bounced away from his fingers and clawed at the wall, its sharp claws leaving marks on the wood as it sought purchase._

_A small girl in a baggy jumpsuit stalked toward the animal, a finger on her lips. Everyone else stopped moving, except the beast, which made its way to the ceiling, a scratchy path left below. When she was within a foot of it, she stretched out to grab it. The creature let go of the wall and jumped onto the girl's shoulder. She screamed, but before she could move, it was off again, hopping onto one person's leg, another person's head, then back on the wall again. The kids yelled at the nearest ones to catch it and screamed in bravado as they tried just that. But despite how well they all sneaked up on it nor how exuberant they sprang, the little beast always leapt away in time. All the kids but the two still seated on a bench by the entrance._

_One of them, a short boy with large eyes which overwhelmed his heart-shaped face and wispy wavy hair, sighed and snapped his heavy book shut. He glared at the pandemonium in front of him. Turning to his companion, the same boy Kaede had bumped into before, he poked his arm._

_'Excuse me, I believe that's your pet,' he said._

_The other boy, who till now had been fiddling with his own number card with one hand and his collar with the other, turned to face the younger kid. 'Huh?'_

_'Your pet is disrupting my reading.'_

_The older boy started, his face losing the deep blush that had remained from before, and stared at the commotion with wide eyes. He sprang up and clapped his hands. 'Tayo! Come back here.'_

_As though a switch had been flipped, the animal stopped ripping another boy's backpack, hopped to the teen's side and clambered onto his shoulder. It nuzzled his neck. The boy giggled and stroked Tayo's muzzle._

_'Ahem,' said the receptionist._

_He gulped and ran his eyes over the ruins his pet had left behind. The walls were indented with claw marks on various spots, some chairs had what little cushioning they held ripped out, several people's clothes were torn and everyone was scratched in some way or another._

_'I'm--I'm sorry, katus c--can be a little...excited in new p--places,' he tugged at his collar and looked down, a blush forming once again._

_The girl rolled her eyes. 'Well, next time, make sure you _contain_ that excitement. Now help me clean up before it's your turn in.'_

_They hustled a few minutes to bring things back to a semblance of normalcy with the help of a few other kids. Every now and then, a squad marched out of the adjacent room, and another group of kids walked in. Soon, only a handful of people remained in the waiting room. The door creaked open, and squad ten walked out._

_'Next!'_

_Ahio, Kaede, the older boy with the pet and the little one with the book filed in._

'Tahro, dinner's ready!'

My heart jumped to my throat, as my mum's voice pulled me out of the pages. Clinking silverware had replaced the chatter from the TV. _Dinner? So early? _She'd have passed my room on the way to the kitchen. My hands shook, almost crumpling the pages they held. I thanked my stars she hadn't noticed what I'd been up to.

'Coming mum, five minutes!' My voice was shakier than I liked.

Hearing no reply, I turned back to the manga, ears alert for creaking floorboards and swishing skirts. _Just this chapter._

_Inside, a plump woman lounged behind a desk, holding a cigar to her lips. She scrutinized a file in front of her. The kids stood at attention, some more than others. While the rest waited as stiff as could be, Ahio bounced up and down on his toes, trying to peek into the file from afar. The woman glared at him._

_'Get outta here if you wanna hop around, brat.' She took a puff of her cigar, eyes still on the boy._

_He fell back in line, smothering a frown. Kaede gave him a small smile and crossed her fingers behind her back._

_'Good,' said the woman, waving her file. 'Kaede Touta, you're squad leader. Here ya go, take this.'_

_Kaede took it, beaming._

_'Yes yes, congratulations.' The woman rolled her eyes. 'You gotta escort a runaway kid back home from Ohoro.'_

_'What? Escort a kid back home?' Ahio burst out. Kaede elbowed him, but he brushed her away. 'I thought quests were supposed to be exciting! Aren't we going to fight anyone?'_

_'Excitin'? I'll give you excitin',' the woman snapped, spit flying on her desk. 'Rumour has it, kids are goin' missin'. An' this one might too if ya'll don't hurry up. That excitin' enough for ya?'_

'Tahro, dinner's getting cold!'

'I'm coming. I'm coming!'

I breezed through the pages, fingers flicking them rougher than I'd like. My brain did it's best to cram in the details of their quest. I _really_ needed to finish this chapter before dinner for...for some reason.

I'm sure you understand.

A few moments later, not hearing my mum call, I slowed down to savour each page as before.

_Their meeting with the Quest Master done, the kids scurried out of her room. The last squad waiting outside rushed in and shut the door behind them. Ahio and Kaede ran downstairs, chattering about their quest while the other two followed._

_The boy with the katu pulled at his collar. 'T-thanks for e-earlier. I-I don't know what I'd been thinking.'_

_'No problem.'_

_'I-I'm Tsubasa Date.'_

_'Daisuke Kaho,' the younger boy said and flipped his book open._

_Both of them traipsed out of focus. The panels grew larger and darker and darker. Soon, one panel covered the whole page, showing a dim-lit room spilling with tomes and cracked parchment._

_In the midst of this loomed a cloaked figure. Their spindly fingers caressed a crystal ball. It glowed a faint blue through the grayscale pages._

A tingle coursed across my back.

_They whispered with a raspy voice, 'It's almost done.'_

'I thought you were studying!' My mum's hand snapped the manga shut.

Heart hammering loud, I looked up to meet her glare. She ripped into me, about what a naughty child I was, and how disappointing my actions were. I don't remember her exact words. But they struck me like lashes. Yet despite the hurt, despite the fear that kept shaking my body, despite it all, I was sure of one thing.

I regretted nothing.


	3. 1.3- The Book Which Split Me in Two

Over the next couple of days, I read the volume, not one, not two, but five times. The shadowy figure was never mentioned again, but that chill returned every time I read the scene. Six months passed as the new chapters of volume two, then three released every Wednesday on the manga site. Soon that became my favourite day. 

Like a blind man who’d found a door, I held on to the whispers and smells from the world behind it. Yet no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't open the door to see more.

I did not,  _ could _ not, live there-- not yet. 

***

_ January 15. Ten years old. Japan.  _

My door was shut. I wasn't allowed to lock it, but no one said anything about  _ shutting  _ it. So I’d shut it. Quietly of course, surreptitiously. When my parents were out buying groceries.

Okay, maybe I was more than a little paranoid. 

Nevertheless, the door was shut, and I was free to practice my swordsmanship, or at least pretend to. With my makeshift blade, a long ruler, I made slashes and thrusts at the air, trying to copy the moves Kaede did the time a bandit stole their bags, or Ahio when the same bandit called his mates for help. Currents of exhilaration rippled through my arm, releasing a longing I'd always had but seldom acknowledged. Well, maybe I had acknowledged it. The shelves of books I owned held testimony to the call for adventure I'd heard since I'd learned to read.

Leaping onto my bed, and then back onto the floor, I tried to propel myself higher and higher into the air. But I couldn’t do the stunts squad eleven often did. In  _ Blade Fables,  _ everyone used inner spirit, their version of magic. They could run faster and jump further than any human in our world could. Some, who were mages like Tsubasa, could do more. As a nature whisperer, he had the spirit of every living creature under his beck and call.

Sweat beading on my forehead, I dropped onto my bed, panting. For all the playacting I did, something was still missing. My heart called out for an answer I couldn’t give. Knuckles turning white, I clenched my ruler. I wanted  _ more _ . More than just reading, more than just my imagination. I wanted to see it, hear it,  _ be _ it.

Something glimmered in front of me, so faint I could’ve mistaken it for a trick of the light. But my curtains were closed and my room in an afternoon shadow.  _ What is it? _ My breath caught in my chest. While my study-table was in front of me, an image of something else superimposed on it. Something tall yet far away. Something with a glistening crystal dome.

_ Heikisato’s headquarters. _

With trembling legs, I stood.  _ Have I gone mad?  _ But regardless of how much I rubbed my eyes or blinked, the image remained.  _ Is this real?  _ I reached out my hands, fingertips brushing the apparition.

**Clang** . 

My parents had arrived. The vision before me disappeared to my dismay. _I was so close._ A spark of anger almost made me scream. But there was no time for that. I flung the ruler onto my study-table and heaved open the door. It wouldn't do for them to find out what I'd been up to. Well, my dad wouldn’t care. He never wanted to work, even to look after his kid, whenever he wasn’t on his business trips and was home on holidays. But my mum would get ideas that I was becoming distracted, or violent. Or she'll laugh at it as if it were too trivial to be given any more respect. 

As she peeked through the doorway, I was on my chair at my study-table, perusing a fourth-grade science textbook. Her blue eyes glinted with what I could only assume to be approval.

‘You're studying? Good. I wanted to talk to you about something.’

My back straightened, and I attempted to put on a calm face and smile. What had I done now? Had she seen me? I'd drawn the curtains closed too. Oh no, was my silhouette visible making swipes with stationary? Yet I couldn't see a trace of anger around her eyes so I forced my thumping heart to calm. It couldn't be anything bad.

'Yes, Mum?'

She smiled, and more than anything, this made my breathing slow down. 

'You're going into fifth grade soon, so I thought it'd be best if we got a tutor for you. I met Mrs Hashimoto at the shop, and she told me her daughter's teacher is a good one. I'll be calling her today, and maybe we could set something up this week.' 

‘Tutoring?’ My dad strode over, still sporting dark circles around his eyes from jetlag. ‘Why does he need that? We can’t afford it.’

I swallowed.  _ Not again. _

My mum sighed, lips thinning into a frown. ‘We could if you stopped dishing out your money so your sister can buy a second car.’

‘We’ve talked about this already.’ He glared at her. ‘Asuka’s in university. It’s hard for them to manage with one car.’

She glared back, her voice rising with every word. ‘I suppose they’re too good for public transport. Why won’t you understand? She has you wrapped around her finger. And now you won’t pay for our child’s  _ education _ because you want to buy her a  _ second car _ .’

‘How dare you tell me how to spend my own money?’ Dad shouted. 

At this point my mum slammed my door, muffling their argument. Their voices still came through, words unintelligible but loud.

Every other day my parents stayed in the same place promised an evening of arguments and silent dinners. I should be used to it by now. Yet I still shook despite myself. My throat dried out and tightened, but I didn’t know why. They’d go over the same quarrel, the same points before deciding to never compromise, only to start it again another day. _ I should be used to it.  _

I blinked, refusing to cry. Just as my vision got cloudy, I spotted my volume of  _ Blade Fables _ . With trembling hands, I grabbed it. The pages, now well-thumbed, captured me just as it had the first time. It was like a blanket, keeping me warm and safe. Soon, my parents' voices drifted away and all I heard were clashing swords.

***

The next evening, I found my arm held hostage by Yuuhei, who towed it and sprinted into his mansion of a home. My shoulders popped in protest, and I stumbled behind him. 

‘Yuuhei, Yuuhei! Slow down,' I screamed. 

‘Aw, wait till we go to my room.’

I sighed and shook my head. I'd need a new arm with this boy as my friend. While his antics made me grin, something else did too.

Today was Wednesday. 

And not just any Wednesday. Today there'd be a new arc. I hoped something exciting happened.

We rushed through the wide hallways and skidded to a halt before his room. A thick spicy smell wafted from the kitchen. My stomach growled. I wondered what Yuuhei’s mum had cooked. He let my poor hand go and stared at the ceiling, eyes moist. 

‘Oh, my room. I am back. Did you miss me?’

I laughed and swatted his arm. ‘So dramatic.’

He shoved my hand, a toothy grin decorating his face. ‘It's time to read,' he rolled onto his gigantic bed and circled his arms under his head. Despite the size, it was a wonder he had any space to do that. Dirty clothes from who knows when, pencils and papers of a budding artist and bags of chips he'd finished days ago took up most of it. A room twice as big as mine and this is what he did with it. 

Kicking away an odd pair of socks on the way to his laptop, I let loose a huge smile. The balls of my feet danced to an imaginary chorus, and exhilaration perfumed the air.  _ Finally!  _ I'd been waiting all week. 

‘I've always wondered how cool it'd be if all these manga were real,' said Yuuhei. 

My eyes shifted to him. He broke contact with them and glazed over the hoards of books on his shelves and floor. ‘You know, I read an article once. It was about some people thinking they could go to other dimensions, and how they had superpowers and stuff. Dunno if it's true, but wouldn't it be so cool if that happened to us?’

Time froze. My heart beat like it was trying to break my ribs, and my palms prickled with sweat. Was that what I was feeling all this while?  _ Am I really… Should I tell him I might be…?  _

‘Yup, it'd be really cool.’

The loading finished, and a screen of bright pokey struck my vision. I opened the browser with shivering fingers and typed in the manga site. Was  _ Blade Fables _ real?  _ Could _ it be real? It took me a few minutes to realize  _ Blade Fables _ was under  _ Newest Releases _ . 

Even if it existed, could I really go there?

‘It's up, Yuuhei.’

‘Yay. Ugh, Tahro, help me. I can't get up.’

Turning my head, I found Yuuhei flat on his back, one hand stretched limply at the roof. I scrambled over and pulled it.

‘Tahro, at this rate, I don't think I'll ever get out of bed. Tell my parents this is it. And my sister that I love her. I can't go to school anymore or do any homework,' he sniffed. ‘When I die, bury me with my action figures.’

Could count on him to change the topic, even unknowingly. I dropped his hands and crossed my arms. ‘Get up, you lazy, morbid kid.’

‘Ugh, ugh,’ he said and flopped to his side. Then, like a zombie, he pushed himself up with one trembling hand and chuckled. ‘Okay, I'm up. Open the chapter.’

I grinned, double-clicked the thumbnail and waited for the chapter to load. The first page was… 

_ Notice to all readers.  _

_ Due to extremely low ratings and other unforeseen circumstances, the Author has to temporarily withdraw from continuing the manga. We assure you that it will return full swing with a new exciting arc, but for now, we apologize for the hiatus. Thank you for your support and patience! _

I had often wondered how everything would have gone about if the four-year hiatus had never happened. Maybe things would have been better. Maybe they would have been worse. But what I  _ do _ know is my life would've been that much easier if it weren't for this stupid hiatus. 

A high-pitched whistle blew in my ear. The temperature plummeted, and whatever breath I had was squeezed out of me. My ears rang as if someone had taken the courtesy of boxing them. Why would they do this? What about everyone who liked it? _ And how will I… Will I ever…know more? _

I saw my future laid out before me. What was I going to do when cooped up in my room if I couldn't be a part of new exploits? What was I going to do when they fought? Those days when my parents’ voices raised too high for me to shut out. How could I mute them if I had no new villains to play-fight with? 

What had once been a door now blew open into a crater. Something precious within me, like a soul, a spirit, rushed through it. I saw not through two eyes, but four. Two hearts raced together. Like looking into a mirror for the first time, there  _ was _ another me. 

‘Hey, Tahro, are you alright?’ said a voice which had travelled many many miles. 

I shut my eyes and clenched my fists. My heart banged on my ribcage, and one thought, one hope, clung to my mind. 

‘Yuuhei, there's something I have to tell you.’

***

_ January 16. Ten years old. Saishuu Riku.  _

I entered the HQ and asked to be a swordsman. 


	4. 2.1- Battles while Solving Maths

The first thing I discovered in Saishuu Riku was that nothing I’d read had happened yet. The year was 469 AE, not the 473 AE of the manga. Perhaps it had to do with how I imagined squad eleven to be around my age, even though they were older in the manga. This only heightened my joy and spurred me to work harder, in the hopes I might one day get to be a part of their story.

While one me learned the art of being a swordsman, the other obsessed over the manga for the next few months. Every day I’d rush to the computer, hoping and hoping for a new chapter. For the hiatus to finally be over. And of course, it wouldn't be. Then I'd refresh the page ten times, fifty times, sometimes for several minutes straight. And there still wouldn't be a new chapter. After about a year of this, I began to calm down. By two years, I only checked each Wednesday. Yet every time I went to sleep, I wished just for that one night, a lifespan of a dream, to live nowhere but in Heikisato. And every time I woke up disappointed. 

After four long years, on the eighteenth of January, the hiatus was over. But the day that really mattered was a week later.

***

_ February 1. Fourteen and a half years old. Japan.  _

I twirled my pen around my fingers, but it slipped out of their clammy grasp. The maths teacher, Ms Kurosaki, scribbled sums on the board, her marker squeaking. I rubbed my eyes and tried to concentrate. Grabbing my pen yet again, I copied down the fourth sum. But halfway through, I stopped.

On any ordinary day, the sums would've been a drag. math was too easy, too simple. I don't like to toot my own horn, but being a math wiz did have its disadvantages. 

Today the sums were more than just boring, a distraction. 

For today was Wednesday. The past few days had passed by in a blur of reading and rereading the manga. As the very first chapter after the hiatus showed Ahio might die.

Yes, you read that right.

He'd seen a man with a cart whipping the donkey that pulled it. Ahio had confronted him, but the man had other ideas. Throwing some sort of sedative powder on his face, the man had heaved him into the cart and ridden away to ask ransom from his family. But Ahio'd broken out. He'd spent precious seconds freeing the donkey, getting caught again. 

I glared at my half-finished sum as if it should tell me how to save Ahio. The worst part was, while the author had told the future so far, starting today, the manga's timeline would be the same as this world's. The dates would finally match, though based on my sleep cycles there, about twelve hours behind Japan. Ahio might die  _ today _ . I was in half a mind to skive off class and run straight home to read the new chapter. 

Shaking my head to get rid of such thoughts, I continued copying down the sum. Anyway, there was no certainty that he'd die. He was one of the main characters. Main characters didn’t often die.

_ But what if he does? What if he also does in the real world if I don’t bother to do something about it? _

And most of all, regardless of what I planned, would my other self know about it? I had to. If I knew I was a swordsman in another world, I had to know this too…right?

I set down my pen and gazed over my sum again. The squeaking gnawed at my brain, and my brows frowned with irritation. 

Gosh, I was trying to think! 

In my mind’s eye, the windows and desks at the periphery vanished, then the students who sat in front blurred into the scene shown in the manga. On a worn road stood Ahio's kidnapper, perhaps soon to be killer. He brandished a colossal axe with his equally giant arms. Black ink coursed over his left shoulder, curling around his neck in the form of a cawing crow. Below him lay Ahio, the mischievous twinkle in his eye gone. Around one arm, a shredded sleeve stuck to it with blood, and the wrist of the other was pink, swollen with a tendril of purple snaking across. 

I resisted the urge to orchestrate yet another fight. I'd already wasted hours on that, thinking up of all the ways I'd like to save Ahio. And, of course, all the ways I'd beat up the man and take him down. It'd be dramatic but short. He would stand no chance. 

Keyword:  _ Like _ . 

Instead, I searched the surroundings, all the details etched into my brain from last week's chapter. A river rushed to the right, clear in some places but white and foamy where it crashed against rocks that stood in its way. The bank was slick with mud and wet grass. Gnarly roots that were a bane of travellers branched out on the path from the left. The trees they grounded rose to touch the sky, their foliage masking the woods beyond. And behind Ahio was the cart. 

The rapids and the woods were exhausted options. During the last week, I'd thought about them, but no plan I came up with was foolproof. I couldn't gamble with Ahio's life. 

That left the cart. Its back was smashed, shards of wood on the floor or hanging by a fibre. All from Ahio's grand escape. Or almost escape. I doubted the cart would do any good, but it was worth a try. 

Pity the donkey had already run off.

Something almost came to me just then. Something I was overlooking, on the tip of my mind. Ahio was caught again… Ahio was caught again… The answer was hiding in here, I knew it. Ahio was caught--

Of course! Ahio was  _ caught _ .

The kidnapper had thrown the bag of powder into the cart. I wondered if I could sneak in and use it against him.

The classroom reappeared, but now the window panes seemed to glitter, and the people around me took a pleasant golden hue. A grin stretched my cheeks, and I swirled my pen around in a frenzy. Of course, of course, how had I not seen this before? 

But then as if someone had turned off the lights, the classroom lost its shimmer. The same way it had whenever I’d gotten an idea the past week. 

_It might work_, _but it still depends on other factors._ _How am I going to get there in time? What if I got lost? Can I really sneak into the cart without the man noticing?_

I rapped my pen on the table and glared at the sum again. The plan needed to be thought through. I closed my eyes to shut off the squeaking and envisioned--

**Ring! **

And with a sigh, opened my eyes. All around me, the din of slammed books and scraped chairs filled the air. Kids stood at their desks, some still stumpy, and others already lanky. They picked up their books and other possessions, all the while gossiping with their friends. Ms Kurosaki walked out, her wiry shadow leaving the classroom before her. 

‘You're gonna get into trouble if you keep laying off your work, y’know?’ said a high-pitched voice. 

I turned to where Yuuhei sat to my left. He crossed his arms and straightened his back, trying to appear taller than his sixty-two inches. After a moment, he flopped back on his seat and rocked it to and fro. Yuuhei grinned and said, 'So, did you save Ahio yet? You told me the timelines met today.’

I slapped my book closed and ran a hand through my hair. A bitter liquid filled my mouth, and I couldn't be less bothered about copying down the sums. I knew I'd get an earful tomorrow. But there were more important things. 

‘Not yet, that's what I've been thinking about,' I said. 

The hammering of his chair stopped. ‘Oh.’

I turned to him. The shark-like grin was gone, and he patted my shoulder. ‘Don't worry, Tahro. The new chapter comes out today, right? I'm sure Ahio’ll be fine.’

I hoped so.

Feigning a smile, I tried hard not to think of the alternative. He was right, I would find out today. And was it even right for me to barge in like that? Things happened in stories for a reason. What if something much worse happened if I stopped… stopped… no, nothing could be worse than Ahio dying. I must, no  _ had  _ to stop it. 

‘Yeah,' I said. 

Yuuhei beamed and shook his head, his black bangs falling into his eyes. ‘Well, pack your bag fast or I'd have to go home without you.’

‘Heh, in a minute.’

As I grabbed my stationary as quick as I could, some of my pencils fell from my fumbling fingers. Home. I could go home. But I also would’ve rather stayed in school for all eternity. 

Hopping out of my seat before I changed my mind, I swung my backpack over my shoulders. With a feigned smile in place, I rushed out of school alongside Yuuhei. 

After an impromptu bag fight, we waved goodbye to each other at the end of the lane, panting from running and doubling over from laughing. 

‘Adios. And don't worry too much over Ahio!’ he yelled. 

‘I won't. Bye!’ But of course, I would. I was so close to finding out the truth. 

Speaking of which, my house was already visible. The cherry trees in my garden waved at me from four blocks away. I sighed and kicked a pebble. The question of whether my other self would know what I would know still remained. Here, I just got bits and pieces of what happened around me in  _ Blade Fables _ . You know, those little flashes and whispers from nowhere? But then again, I'd always instinctively known what I was doing or have done. For instance, now I was sleeping in the other world. Even if it were just bits and pieces, whatever plan I made needed to translate to the other me as well.

‘Mum, I'm back!’ I called out as I entered the living room. The smell of something mouth-watering-- was it chicken? wafted out of the kitchen. I heard the chatter of TV and saw my mum's telltale golden curls behind our sofa. 

‘How was school?’ she asked turning around. 

‘Good,' I lied and took off my backpack. 

***

Finally! I sat and pushed away all my stationery and random knick-knacks to open my laptop. It was time. I opened the web browser, missing the icon the first three times with a trembling finger, and typed in what I wanted. The page began to load, and the circle spun. 

Now I'd know what to do. Ahio'd be safe in no time. 

The circle spun. 

I was probably overreacting anyway. Someone else would rescue him. Maybe he'd even pull off something and rescue himself. 

The circle spun. 

It was taking a long time to load today. The internet must be slow. 

The circle stopped. 

The page was blank save for one picture and a message--  _ Unable to connect to the internet _ . 


	5. 2.1- Battles while Solving Maths

The first thing I discovered in Saishuu Riku was that nothing I’d read had happened yet. The year was 469 AE, not the 473 AE of the manga. Perhaps it had to do with how I imagined squad eleven to be around my age, even though they were older in the manga. This only heightened my joy and spurred me to work harder, in the hopes I might one day get to be a part of their story.

While one me learned the art of being a swordsman, the other obsessed over the manga for the next few months. Every day I’d rush to the computer, hoping and hoping for a new chapter. For the hiatus to finally be over. And of course, it wouldn't be. Then I'd refresh the page ten times, fifty times, sometimes for several minutes straight. And there still wouldn't be a new chapter. After about a year of this, I began to calm down. By two years, I only checked each Wednesday. Yet every time I went to sleep, I wished just for that one night, a lifespan of a dream, to live nowhere but in Heikisato. And every time I woke up disappointed. 

After four long years, on the eighteenth of January, the hiatus was over. But the day that really mattered was a week later.

***

_ February 1. Fourteen and a half years old. Japan.  _

I twirled my pen around my fingers, but it slipped out of their clammy grasp. The maths teacher, Ms Kurosaki, scribbled sums on the board, her marker squeaking. I rubbed my eyes and tried to concentrate. Grabbing my pen yet again, I copied down the fourth sum. But halfway through, I stopped.

On any ordinary day, the sums would've been a drag. math was too easy, too simple. I don't like to toot my own horn, but being a math wiz did have its disadvantages. 

Today the sums were more than just boring, a distraction. 

For today was Wednesday. The past few days had passed by in a blur of reading and rereading the manga. As the very first chapter after the hiatus showed Ahio might die.

Yes, you read that right.

He'd seen a man with a cart whipping the donkey that pulled it. Ahio had confronted him, but the man had other ideas. Throwing some sort of sedative powder on his face, the man had heaved him into the cart and ridden away to ask ransom from his family. But Ahio'd broken out. He'd spent precious seconds freeing the donkey, getting caught again. 

I glared at my half-finished sum as if it should tell me how to save Ahio. The worst part was, while the author had told the future so far, starting today, the manga's timeline would be the same as this world's. The dates would finally match, though based on my sleep cycles there, about twelve hours behind Japan. Ahio might die  _ today _ . I was in half a mind to skive off class and run straight home to read the new chapter. 

Shaking my head to get rid of such thoughts, I continued copying down the sum. Anyway, there was no certainty that he'd die. He was one of the main characters. Main characters didn’t often die.

_ But what if he does? What if he also does in the real world if I don’t bother to do something about it? _

And most of all, regardless of what I planned, would my other self know about it? I had to. If I knew I was a swordsman in another world, I had to know this too…right?

I set down my pen and gazed over my sum again. The squeaking gnawed at my brain, and my brows frowned with irritation. 

Gosh, I was trying to think! 

In my mind’s eye, the windows and desks at the periphery vanished, then the students who sat in front blurred into the scene shown in the manga. On a worn road stood Ahio's kidnapper, perhaps soon to be killer. He brandished a colossal axe with his equally giant arms. Black ink coursed over his left shoulder, curling around his neck in the form of a cawing crow. Below him lay Ahio, the mischievous twinkle in his eye gone. Around one arm, a shredded sleeve stuck to it with blood, and the wrist of the other was pink, swollen with a tendril of purple snaking across. 

I resisted the urge to orchestrate yet another fight. I'd already wasted hours on that, thinking up of all the ways I'd like to save Ahio. And, of course, all the ways I'd beat up the man and take him down. It'd be dramatic but short. He would stand no chance. 

Keyword:  _ Like _ . 

Instead, I searched the surroundings, all the details etched into my brain from last week's chapter. A river rushed to the right, clear in some places but white and foamy where it crashed against rocks that stood in its way. The bank was slick with mud and wet grass. Gnarly roots that were a bane of travellers branched out on the path from the left. The trees they grounded rose to touch the sky, their foliage masking the woods beyond. And behind Ahio was the cart. 

The rapids and the woods were exhausted options. During the last week, I'd thought about them, but no plan I came up with was foolproof. I couldn't gamble with Ahio's life. 

That left the cart. Its back was smashed, shards of wood on the floor or hanging by a fibre. All from Ahio's grand escape. Or almost escape. I doubted the cart would do any good, but it was worth a try. 

Pity the donkey had already run off.

Something almost came to me just then. Something I was overlooking, on the tip of my mind. Ahio was caught again… Ahio was caught again… The answer was hiding in here, I knew it. Ahio was caught--

Of course! Ahio was  _ caught _ .

The kidnapper had thrown the bag of powder into the cart. I wondered if I could sneak in and use it against him.

The classroom reappeared, but now the window panes seemed to glitter, and the people around me took a pleasant golden hue. A grin stretched my cheeks, and I swirled my pen around in a frenzy. Of course, of course, how had I not seen this before? 

But then as if someone had turned off the lights, the classroom lost its shimmer. The same way it had whenever I’d gotten an idea the past week. 

_It might work_, _but it still depends on other factors._ _How am I going to get there in time? What if I got lost? Can I really sneak into the cart without the man noticing?_

I rapped my pen on the table and glared at the sum again. The plan needed to be thought through. I closed my eyes to shut off the squeaking and envisioned--

**Ring! **

And with a sigh, opened my eyes. All around me, the din of slammed books and scraped chairs filled the air. Kids stood at their desks, some still stumpy, and others already lanky. They picked up their books and other possessions, all the while gossiping with their friends. Ms Kurosaki walked out, her wiry shadow leaving the classroom before her. 

‘You're gonna get into trouble if you keep laying off your work, y’know?’ said a high-pitched voice. 

I turned to where Yuuhei sat to my left. He crossed his arms and straightened his back, trying to appear taller than his sixty-two inches. After a moment, he flopped back on his seat and rocked it to and fro. Yuuhei grinned and said, 'So, did you save Ahio yet? You told me the timelines met today.’

I slapped my book closed and ran a hand through my hair. A bitter liquid filled my mouth, and I couldn't be less bothered about copying down the sums. I knew I'd get an earful tomorrow. But there were more important things. 

‘Not yet, that's what I've been thinking about,' I said. 

The hammering of his chair stopped. ‘Oh.’

I turned to him. The shark-like grin was gone, and he patted my shoulder. ‘Don't worry, Tahro. The new chapter comes out today, right? I'm sure Ahio’ll be fine.’

I hoped so.

Feigning a smile, I tried hard not to think of the alternative. He was right, I would find out today. And was it even right for me to barge in like that? Things happened in stories for a reason. What if something much worse happened if I stopped… stopped… no, nothing could be worse than Ahio dying. I must, no  _ had  _ to stop it. 

‘Yeah,' I said. 

Yuuhei beamed and shook his head, his black bangs falling into his eyes. ‘Well, pack your bag fast or I'd have to go home without you.’

‘Heh, in a minute.’

As I grabbed my stationary as quick as I could, some of my pencils fell from my fumbling fingers. Home. I could go home. But I also would’ve rather stayed in school for all eternity. 

Hopping out of my seat before I changed my mind, I swung my backpack over my shoulders. With a feigned smile in place, I rushed out of school alongside Yuuhei. 

After an impromptu bag fight, we waved goodbye to each other at the end of the lane, panting from running and doubling over from laughing. 

‘Adios. And don't worry too much over Ahio!’ he yelled. 

‘I won't. Bye!’ But of course, I would. I was so close to finding out the truth. 

Speaking of which, my house was already visible. The cherry trees in my garden waved at me from four blocks away. I sighed and kicked a pebble. The question of whether my other self would know what I would know still remained. Here, I just got bits and pieces of what happened around me in  _ Blade Fables _ . You know, those little flashes and whispers from nowhere? But then again, I'd always instinctively known what I was doing or have done. For instance, now I was sleeping in the other world. Even if it were just bits and pieces, whatever plan I made needed to translate to the other me as well.

‘Mum, I'm back!’ I called out as I entered the living room. The smell of something mouth-watering-- was it chicken? wafted out of the kitchen. I heard the chatter of TV and saw my mum's telltale golden curls behind our sofa. 

‘How was school?’ she asked turning around. 

‘Good,' I lied and took off my backpack. 

***

Finally! I sat and pushed away all my stationary and random knick knacks to open my laptop. It was time. Finally time. I opened the web browser, missing the icon the first three times with a trembling finger, and typed in what I wanted. The page began to load, and the circle spun. 

Now I'd know what to do. Ahio'd be safe in no time. 

The circle spun. 

I was probably overreacting anyway. Someone else would rescue him. Maybe he'd even pull off something and rescue himself. 

The circle spun. 

It was taking a long time to load today. The internet must be slow. 

The circle stopped. 

The page was blank save for one picture and a message--  _ Unable to connect to the internet _ . 


End file.
